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¹ Colorado Division of Wildlife, Wildlife Research Center, 317 West Prospect Road, Fort Collins, Colorado 80526-2097, USA
² Department of Forest, Range, and Wildlife Sciences, 5230 Old Main Hill, Utah State University, Logan, Utah 84322, USA
³ Corresponding author (email: mike.miller{at}state.co.us)

ABSTRACT:   We analyzed chronic wasting disease (CWD) prevalence data from mule deer populations in northcentral Colorado, USA, to discern the likely influences of temporal, spatial, and demographic factors on patterns observed in naturally infected populations. In addition to reaffirming spatial heterogeneity among wintering mule deer subpopulations, we report marked differences in CWD prevalence by sex and age groups as well as clear local trends of increasing prevalence over a 7-yr period. Prevalence of CWD differed by age (yearling vs. adult), sex, and geographic area at two different spatial scales (game management unit or population unit winter range) and increased over time at both geographic scales. Disease status (positive or negative) was not independent of age for males (n = 285, df = 6, ² = 18.4, P = 0.005) or females (n = 387, df = 8, ² = 17.2, P = 0.028). Among males, prevalence increased and then declined across age classes, peaking in 5- to 6-yr-old individuals; among females, prevalence showed no definite age-related pattern. Demographic, spatial, and temporal factors all appear to contribute to the marked heterogeneity in CWD prevalence in endemic portions of northcentral Colorado, USA. These factors likely combine in various ways to influence epidemic dynamics on both local and broad geographic scales.
  Key words:  Chronic wasting disease (CWD), mule deer, Odocoileus hemionus, prion, transmissible spongiform encephalopathy.

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				M. Perucchini, K. Griffin, M. W. Miller, and W. Goldmann PrP genotypes of free-ranging wapiti (Cervus elaphus nelsoni) with chronic wasting disease J. Gen. Virol., May 1, 2008; 89(5): 1324 - 1328. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				C. E. Krumm, M. M. Conner, and M. W. Miller RELATIVE VULNERABILITY OF CHRONIC WASTING DISEASE INFECTED MULE DEER TO VEHICLE COLLISIONS J. Wildl. Dis., July 1, 2005; 41(3): 503 - 511. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]